The invention relates to a bridge having at least one bridge element that has a bridge base body with chamfered end surfaces and roadway plates that are pivotable around a shaft disposed in the region of the upper edge of the chamfered end surfaces, wherein ramp plates are hinged at the end of the roadway plates opposite the pivot shaft, and the roadway plates either lie on the chamfered end surfaces to form a drive-on ramp, and the ramp plates rest on the top of the embankment, or the roadway plates are pivoted away from the end surfaces to connect two contiguous bridge elements to form a bridge, and the ramp plates are pivoted into an essentially vertical position and the roadway plates that face one another and are parts of the bridge elements to be coupled can be locked directly with one another, and wherein lower chord locking means are provided, with which the lower chords of the bridge elements to be coupled can be locked. The invention further relates to an apparatus for laying a bridge.
Deployable bridges used particularly as prospect bridges are configured such that they are pushed across the river or ravine and laid with the aid of a vehicle provided with a bridge-laying apparatus. For this purpose the bridges are either configured in one piece or of the fewest possible pieces, in dimensions that permit transport on a land vehicle. Multiple-part bridges must meet the requirement that the individual sections can not only be joined with simple handling, but also must be structurally designed for relatively heavy vehicle loads. A generic bridge and a bridge-laying vehicle suited for laying it are known from EP-OS 0,391,149.A2.
For bridges of this type whose length must be variable, a bridge element or section is provided that has at least one joint whose horizontal axis extends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bridge, around which joint a roadway section located in the end region of the section can pivot. The roadway and roadway section can be configured in one piece or as two parallel tracks. The hinged roadway sections can either be pivoted upwardly and rotated in such a way that their ends can be coupled and locked to a further bridge element, together with the end of the base body, or the roadway sections lie downwardly-pivoted on the base body and form a drive-on ramp. In EP-OS 0,391,149.A2, linear motors, particularly hydraulic cylinders, are proposed as adjustment apparatuses for pivoting the roadway sections.